Slezak Revels in Second Act at New York-Bred Sale

A long-time entertainment journalist who spent much of his career writing about shows like American Idol and The Voice, Michael Slezak grew up in Amsterdam, N.Y., about 30 miles west of Saratoga Springs. His earliest memory has nothing to do with music.

"My dad put me up on his shoulders at the track, and I picked a horse to win," Slezak recalled. "He made a $2 bet, and the horse won, and that was that. If you're going to fall in love with horse racing, it takes only one trip to Saratoga."

Slezak has made many trips to Saratoga since, but four years ago, he returned in a new role: as bloodstock agent for Peter Kazamias' Kaz Hill Farm, selling yearlings out of the mares he had selected for Kazamias.

Slezak read voraciously about pedigree, even as a teenager. Later, writing for publications like Entertainment Weekly, he regularly pondered a career change.

He started with one mare off the track at Charles Town, then started claiming runners in which he saw broodmare potential, his mind locked on pedigrees from all those years of research.

"I started to see that sometimes in the claiming ranks, you could find some interesting, well-bred mares," he said, "so I started selling horses coming off the track to breeders."

In March 2015, he privately purchased Berry Knoll, who was running at Oaklawn Park. He bred her to Animal Kingdom  and sold her in foal at that year's Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $80,000.

In October 2015, Athenian Beauty was running in an $8,000 claimer at Gulfstream Park West. The following year, Slezak purchased her and bred her to Verrazano , selling her in foal at Keeneland for $125,000.

"I'd been flirting with the idea of leaving journalism, and those two sales paved the way," he said.

He cold-called some trainers offering his services, and he soon formed a partnership with Kazamias, who owns a farm in Middletown, N.Y., and who purchased mares from Slezak to breed to his stallion Here's Zealous.

The first mare Kazamias bought on Slezak's recommendation was Royal Affection, a daughter of Vindication out of the Storm Cat mare Royal Tigress, paying $35,000 for her in foal to Shackleford  at the 2014 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. The foal sold at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale for $125,000.

This year, Kaz Hill Farm has four yearlings scheduled to go through the ring at the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale, and he is particularly happy about the recent updates for Hip 379, a Hard Spun  filly out of the Kitten's Joy  mare Chant for Kitten.

On Aug. 10, Hard Spun's Green Light Go won the Saratoga Special Stakes Presented by Miller Lite (G2) at Saratoga Race Course. Aug. 9, another runner by the stallion, Spinoff, won an allowance race at the Spa. Aug. 4, 3-year-old Hard Spun runner A Thread of Blue won the Saratoga Derby Invitational, and on Aug. 3, the sire's 5-year-old Lucullan won the Fasig-Tipton Lure Stakes.

"Any positive results from a sire is a big help," said Pat Costello, co-owner of Paramount Sales, consignor of the Kaz Hill Farm yearlings. 

The other yearlings on offer are Hip 471, a colt by Kantharos  out of Jelani (Smarty Jones ); Hip 527, a colt by first-crop sire Speightster  out of Mondenschein (Brahms); and Hip 627, a filly by Will Take Charge  out of Storminthegarden (Stormy Atlantic ).

"It's the best consignment I've seen (Kazamias) bring up here," said Costello. "He's got some lovely individuals. The balance on the Kantharos is lovely. He's a great physical."

Though Kazamias and Slezak purchase with an eye toward sales, Kazamias also races horses, giving them a second option if the yearlings don't meet their reserve.

Calling himself an "avowed bargain shopper," Slezak recommended the multiple grade 1 winner Spun Sugar, sold as a broodmare in 2007 for $4.5 million. Kazamias bought her in 2016 for $20,000 following a disappointing breeding career, and on Slezak's suggestion also added multiple graded stakes winner Megahertz to his broodmare band for $40,000.

"I like to help people build broodmare bands without spending a fortune," said Slezak. "You don't have to spend six figures; you just have to be a voracious researcher and in the right place at the right time, like when bidding on Megahertz, in foal to Street Sense, stops at ($40,000)."

As intensely interested in pedigrees as he was when he was younger, absorbed in The Blood-Horse at the breakfast table, Slezak is reveling in what he calls his second act.

"It never feels like work," he said. "I love the mystery and the joy of the breeding business."

And as a New York State native, he's particularly happy to be selling horses near his hometown.

"The New York-bred program is pretty terrific in terms of purse money and breeders bonuses," he said. "And at this sale, the buyers are there and willing to pay if you bring the right horse to market."